image created by JulieOh

V - Check

"Banks! Yo, Banks, come on, man, open up!"

Banks was awakened on Saturday morning by an insistent pounding on his door. He groaned and pulled his pillow over his head as he recognized Randy Timberwood's voice. "Go away, I'm sleeping!"

"It's 10:45," Timberwood retorted through the door. "Get up, Banks, I ain't goin' away until you let me in!"

Banks whimpered and tried to ignore him, burrowing deeper into the covers, but Timberwood just kept knocking. Finally, he let out a frustrated growl and threw the covers off, stalking to the door and yanking it open. "What?!"

Timberwood took a huge step back and wrinkled his nose, waving a hand in front of his face. "Damn, man, you stink!"

"You woke me up!"

Timberwood pushed past him into the room and made himself comfortable at Banks' desk, where he turned on the computer. "Brush your teeth and get dressed, we're gonna play ball."

Banks stared after him, still not quite awake. "What? Now?"

"Yes, now. C'mon, man, get going."

"But...." Banks rubbed at his face, noting absently that yeah, his breath was rank. "Why don't you go bother Joshua, or something?"

"Can't." Timberwood opened a game of Solitaire. "He's out with James and Anthony."

"Oh yeah," Banks mumbled. "Stupid field trip."

"So hurry up," Timberwood urged him, eyes still on his game. "I wanna see if you can play."

"I can play." Banks finally came out of his stupor and closed the door, stepping back into the room and getting out some clothes.

"We'll see."

Banks scowled and headed out to the bathroom. "If you break my computer I'll kick your ass."

Timberwood shrugged. "Whatever."

~*~

"Check," Banks huffed, passing the ball back to Timberwood for his turn at the basket.

The two boys had been playing for about a half an hour already, and though both were hot and tired from the rough game, neither was willing to bring the game to a stop before they reached the agreed upon 100 points. Banks had played hard, and had a feeling Timberwood was impressed with his efforts. So far, despite Timberwood's superiority in overall strength and stamina, they seemed to be almost evenly matched in skill. The score held at 86 to 82, in Timberwood's favor.

"So," Timberwood said conversationally, "you and Anthony."

"Huh?" Banks, caught by surprise, failed to block Timberwood's shot, and the other boy's score went up another two points.

Timberwood gave a cocky grin as he retrieved the ball and threw it to Banks. "You like him."

"What?! I do not! Check."

"Check. Yeah? He likes you, anyway."

Banks made sure to elbow him, hard, as he pushed past him to make another basket. "Well, I don't like him, so forget about it."

Timberwood grimaced but didn't complain, merely rubbing at the now sore spot on his side. "You sure seem like you do, bein' all jealous of James, and all. Check."

"I am not jealous of James! Just drop it, Timberwood, or I swear to God, I will kick your preppy, curly-topped ass, okay?"

Timberwood just smirked at him. "Sure, whatever."

Banks passed the ball back with more force than was necessary. "Check."

~*~

"Ooh!" Anthony squealed, coming to a complete halt in the middle of the sidewalk and causing Joshua to slam into him from behind.

James rolled his eyes as Joshua offered a sheepish apology. "What?"

"Look!" Anthony held up one of the new Backstreet Boys photocards he'd acquired at Target and sighed dreamily. "AJ McLean is so... incredibly... hot. Look at this! Being that hot should be illegal."

James glanced at the photocard and shrugged. "If you say so."

Joshua studied it a bit more carefully. "He's not that great looking, really—" he began, then hurriedly continued when he saw that Anthony was about to argue the point. "—but he's got a lot of sex appeal."

James raised an eyebrow. "You too, Joshua? God, it's spreading."

Joshua blushed. "No! It was just an observation." He took a few of the photocards and flipped through them, studying each one carefully. "Why is it that women can appreciate one another's beauty without being labeled as lesbians, but guys can't do the same? See, I think this one... Kevin? Is the most attractive. Except for those eyebrows. But he's not making my heart go pitty-pat, or anything."

"How's your dick?" James asked, totally deadpan. Joshua gave him a look of affronted disapproval.

Anthony started to laugh. "Gimme my photocards back." He repackaged the cards and put them back into his bag. "Kevin is amazing, yes," he agreed, his eyes going a little dreamy. "Not only does he have perfect bone structure—just like someone else I know, hmm?" He nudged Joshua with his elbow, enjoying the predictable blush that followed, "—but he also has an amazing body."

"So, you like 'em tall, dark, and handsome?" Joshua observed, grinning.

"Apparently, height has very little to do with it," Anthony answered pointedly, sending both Joshua and himself back into laughter.

James just sighed again and kept walking. "Little girls, the both of you." But his lips turned up in a tiny smile.

(Interlude)

"Timba-Timba-Timba-Woooooooood!"

Timberwood smirked, but waited until he'd made his shot before turning and greeting the three newcomers with high-fives and back-slaps. "Yo, 'sup dawgs?"

"S'alright," answered the largest of them, a black boy who had to be at least 6'5". "Who's the shrimp?"

Banks, who had just retrieved the basketball and come up behind Timberwood, scowled at him and only barely resisted to throw the ball at the boy's head. "Who the hell are you calling a shrimp?"

The boy laughed down at him and patted him condescendingly on the head. "That would be you. I'm Big Mike, this is Lonnie and Cheeze." The other two boys smirked at Banks, both of them towering at least two heads over him.

"This is Banks," Timberwood introduced him, clapping him firmly on the back. "He's little, but he can play, yo. He's gonna be a starter this season, for sure."

"Oh, really?" The shortest of the three looked Banks up and down critically as he spoke, his East-European accent giving the words a clipped, gutteral tone. "He doesn't look the part."

"C'mon, Cheeze," shrugged the last boy, Lonnie. "You know s'well's the rest of us that looks don't mean shit. Dawg says he can hang, he can hang. S'all there is to it."

Cheeze just snorted rudely. "Whatever."

Banks opened his mouth to tell the boy off, but Timberwood spoke quickly, cutting him off. "Why don't we play a game? Then you can see for yourself. C'mon, Banks, you're on my team, against Lonnie and Big Mike. Cheeze, you just watch."

Big Mike raised an eyebrow. "You two against us?"

"You're gonna get slaughtered," Lonnie warned him, even as he moved into a guarding position in front of the basket.

Cheeze made himself comfortable on one of the benches and leaned back, crossing his arms and smirking. Banks and Timberwood wiped the smirk off his face within the first minute of the game.

~*~

"Okay," Anthony said, flipping quickly through his Backstreet Boys photo cards until he found the one he was looking for. "Look at this and then tell me you can't at least appreciate his... attractiveness."

James sighed, but did as Anthony asked, studying the card thoughtfully. Then he shrugged, almost apologetically. "Sorry, Anthony. I guess I'm just too straight."

Anthony's mouth fell open. "But.... But...." He turned to Joshua, dismayed. "But...!"

Joshua tried unsuccessfully to hide a grin. "You just can't talk to some people."

Anthony sighed, disappointed, and then sighed again, longingly this time, as he reverently placed the card back in the stack, making sure to keep them in order. "That's okay, I guess. At least I don't have to worry about you stealing my men."

"Hmm, not likely, no," James replied.

"James!" All three boys turned as Timberwood's voice rang out behind them. "Hold up!"

Anthony waited with James and Joshua as Timberwood, Banks, and three very tall boys he didn't recognize jogged up to them. "Hi, Banks," he greeted his friend, giving a little wave.
Banks flushed slightly. "Yeah, hey."

"Hey, Anthony," Timberwood nodded. "Josh. Anthony, this is Big Mike, Lonnie, and Cheeze. They're on the B-ball team with me. Guys, this is Anthony. He's a transfer."

Big Mike and Lonnie greeted him politely enough, but Cheeze had taken a step back the moment he'd spoken, and was now sneering at him, his lip curled in disgust. "You've got to be kidding me. A fucking fag?"

Anthony felt his face heat up with anger and embarrassment, and dropped his eyes to the ground. "You know what?" he said quietly, his earlier happiness evaporating. "I think I'm gonna go back to the dorms. See you guys later."

"No, hold it," James said, his voice hard. "I think this blowhard owes you an apology."

Joshua sucked in a sharp breath and placed a hand on James' shoulder. "Um, James? I don't think we should really make a big deal out of this--"

Cheeze rolled his eyes. "Oh, two fags."

"--he's really a very, very big guy," Joshua finished, his voice hushed and a little tremulous.

But Timberwood stepped forward, turning on Cheeze with narrowed, angry eyes. "Yo, chill, okay? these are my friends you're messin' with, and I really don't feel like havin' to kick your ass right now."

Cheeze snorted. "Yeah, like you could." But he backed down.

Banks stepped up to Anthony's side and was quickly followed by Timberwood. "So, what are we doing for the rest of the day?" he asked defiantly, glaring at Cheeze as he spoke. Anthony felt a little bit of the anger evaporate, replaced by a peculiar warm fuzziness.

"Anthony just bought the ultimate Superman DVD collection," Joshua offered shyly, "if anyone wants to watch that...."

"Sure," Timberwood shrugged. "Why not?"

"I'll spring for pizza," James added.

Anthony looked around at all of them, overwhelmed by the support. "Wow, I.... Thanks, guys...."

"You guys mind if I join you?" Big Mike asked, stepping deliberately away from an astonished Cheeze.

"And me?" Lonnie added.

Timberwood grinned and tossed Lonnie the basketball. "Fine with me. Anthony?"

"Uh... sure." He made a mental note to get the DVDs out of the bag himself, lest the two large ballers see his Backstreet Boys photo cards and change their minds about accepting him. "The more the merrier."

"The commons room in Kirkpatrick House is sure to be free," James decided. "Come on." He turned and headed back toward the dorms, the rest of the group on his heels.

"Don't worry about Cheeze, Anthony," Timberwood murmured to him as they left. "He's all bark and no bite."

But Anthony could feel the boy's angry stare on his back as they walked away, and he had a bad feeling things would only get worse.

End

Screencap in the "Deerfield" image taken from *NSYNC: THEN AND NOW and used with permission. Many thanks to them!
"Deerfield" image © 2000-2001 JulieOh

Email: kittie.verdena@gmail.com